The weather in Assassin's Creed Shadows is of great importance to Ubisoft, mainly due to a new tool called Atmos that allows for the full simulation of the weather that affects the game.
Speaking to VG247, Assassin's Creed Shadows art director Thierry Dansereau said that there's a lot of emphasis on the game's skies because they “represent an important visual element that greatly contributes to the perceived visual quality and level of immersion.” Dansereau added that simulating realistic clouds will help Ubisoft bring to life a “dynamic world that's constantly transforming.”
So what exactly is different about the way Ubisoft designs the skies in Assassin's Creed Shadows compared to previous games in the series? Well, it apparently all comes down to that Atmos technology I mentioned at the beginning of this article.
“In AC Shadows, all weather is simulated, meaning clouds are dynamic and evolve over time,” explained Assassin's Creed Shadows technical director Maxime Beaudoin.[…] The atmosphere not only determines the clouds we see in the sky, but also the entire weather (precipitation, wind, moisture accumulation in the ground, thunder, etc.).
Beaudoin said these weather effects aren't just for looks, but will also have a real impact on gameplay. It's unclear to what extent exactly, but Beaudoin said NPCs will have a harder time spotting the player during thunderstorms due to all the noise and reduced visibility.
The Atmos tool also means artists don't have to manually create and program clouds and various weather effects; Beaudoin said they just have to “tweak a few parameters and a cloudscape automatically emerges.”
“This means they don't control the exact shape of the clouds like in previous games, but instead focus on the composition, determining the overall look they want to achieve and letting the simulation fill in the gaps. This allows for a very realistic looking cloudscape to be created in a matter of minutes.”
Assassin's Creed Shadows will be the first Ubisoft game to use the new weather technology, but Ubisoft says it won't be the last. “We've only just begun to see what can be done with it,” says Beaudoin. “It's such a different way of doing things that we're still learning how to use it to its full potential, so hopefully future titles will take advantage of it in much more depth.”
Assassin's Creed Shadows is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on November 12.
Assassin's Creed Shadows developer says the open-world game aims to be “as respectful of Japanese culture as possible, but creative decisions are made on our end.”